Defensive end Adam Carriker, whose season ended with a torn quad tendon against the St. Louis Rams in Week 2, feels bad for the fallen two-time Pro Bowler.

Meriweather’s regular season debut with the Redskins lasted all of three quarters before he suffered a torn ACL in a lopsided win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

He had been sidelined until last Sunday with a troublesome knee that was first injured in the preseason.

The free agent acquisition was to have made his debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in late Sept., but a freak pre-game collision with wide receiver Aldrick Robinson derailed those plans.

“It’s been tough on him. You can tell he’s been working to get better, but his spirits have been down a little bit,” Carriker on his radio show, 4th & Pain. “As the closer to the end of the bye week got, you could see he was getting excited. You could see he was ready to play. And you could see what he was capable of doing. He went out and played well. It’s just kind of a freak, non-contact thing.”

Meriweather’s presence had an immediate impact on the struggling Redskins secondary. He intercepted rookie quarterback Nick Foles in the first quarter, defended two other passes and recorded seven tackles in what will be his only action of the season.

When the Miami product first suffered the injured, its magnitude was lost on him. Meriweather told reporters after the game he remained on the sideline as a precaution.

It wasn’t until Monday the full scope of the damage was known.

“I’m really glad he really didn’t go back in the game now and they were being cautious because who knows what he could have done since they didn’t know he tore his ACL yet,” Carriker added.

The Redskins have placed Meriweather on injured reserve and signed cornerback Jerome Murphy in his place.